A collective cheer could be heard all throughout Edmonton, Alberta when NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly displayed the gold card earning the Edmonton Oilers the first overall draft pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Fans have already sounded off the bells and whistles to welcome Connor McDavid. The talent of McDavid would be an asset for most teams in the NHL, but for Edmonton, he could be considered a hero.
Instead of donning him with a jersey at the draft in June, Oilers General Manager Peter Chiarelli might just honor him with a superhero cape. In anticipation to McDavid’s arrival, Oilers jerseys with the number 97 have already been printed and hamburgers from local restaurants with McDavid in an Oilers jersey on the wrapper are quickly are being consumed.
So, why all this fanfare? Players like Connor McDavid do not come around that often and a chance for him to improve this debilitated team is the opportunity the Oilers may have been waiting for. He has been compared to great names in hockey such as Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby, and Mario Lemieux. He is the Oilers next franchise player.
Connor McDavid is an 18 year old center who just so happened to score 44 goals and 120 points in only 47 regular season games with his major junior team, the Erie Otters, in the Ontario Hockey League. His team excelled in the post-season with the help of his 21 goals and 49 points in 20 games to help his team win the Wayne Gretzky Trophy which goes to the OHL’s Western Conference championship.
On the ice, McDavid has shown speed, quick hockey thinking, and an exceptional ability to process the game. He can intimidate very easily while whipping through defensemen to score. He is well on his way to success in the NHL. He played his first year of juniors in the OHL as only the third player to ever be granted entrance to start his junior career early. That honor also goes with such names as: John Tavares and Aaron Ekblad.
With Todd McLellan being newly appointed as the new head coach of the team, Edmonton may have a new outlook with McDavid leading the way, and a hopeful future run for the Stanley Cup. McLellan recently stated, “I thought it through a lot…the landing of McDavid. This is a special player. He has a special skill set that the fans are going to enjoy for a long time.” McLellan plans to take him right from juniors into the NHL.
“He’s learning how to deal with an immense amount of tension and pressure, but that’s at the junior level. It’s going to change when he gets to the NHL.” Edmonton is not new to this concept. Several players in the organization such as Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, and Grant Fuhr have made comparable transitions and with great success. Adding McDavid in this custom could bring excitement.
Along with the Oilers current number one center, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, McDavid would be added as a top center to aide good wingers and depth down the middle. He may just add the motivation needed to lift this team after nine years of not making the playoffs to contenders; making them the City of Champions once again.
In the meantime, it will come as no big surprise to hear the following announcement from Chiarelli at the upcoming draft in June at the BB@T Center in Sunrise, Florida.
“The Edmonton Oilers are proud to select, from the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League, Connor McDavid.”
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